Air fryer zucchini fries
by If you’ve never tried air fryer zucchini fries, then this is the time to make them! These cheesy and garlicky sticks are crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. They make a healthy appetizer or snack for summer days. But they are great to enjoy all year round.
Serve them alongside the fresh and delicious garlic aioli, which takes less than 5 minutes to whip up!
Why you’ll love this appetizer
Zucchini fries in air fryer are so good and easy to make. You will end up making them over and over again, and here’s why:
- Deliciously crispy! The tasty garlicky flavor combined with the crispy texture makes them super addictive!
- Cheesy and garlicky: The flavor combo makes parmesan zucchini fries a great dish for the whole family — it can even get your kids to enjoy eating veggies.
- Healthy and low carb: It’s one of the best healthy alternatives to traditional french fries.
Ingredients
You’ll only need one trip to get these ingredients for the fried zucchini air fryer:
- For the zucchini: Zucchini, large egg, salt, black pepper, gluten-free flour, almond flour, coarse sea salt, garlic powder, grated parmesan cheese, avocado oil spray
- For the garlic aioli: Kewpie mayonnaise, garlic, fresh lemon juice, coarse sea salt, garlic powder, extra virgin olive oil
Ingredient substitutions
- If you’re not going for a low-carb version, you can use different types of bread crumb mixture, like Panko bread crumbs, or Italian breadcrumbs.
- Whey protein isolate is a great keto substitute for flour. You can also use gluten-free flour, rice flour, or potato flour to make zuchinni fries air fryer.
- Rice panko is another good alternative if you can’t have almond flour.
How to make the dish
Here’s an easy step-by-step guide on how to make zucchini fries in air fryer:
- Make the aioli dip by combining the ingredients in a bowl. Refrigerate before serving.
- Cut the zucchini into crosswise halves before slicing each into quarters. Remove moisture by using a kitchen towel.
- Dip the zucchini slices in flour, then the egg mixture, before coating them with the parmesan mix, ensuring that they are all well-coated.
- Spray avocado oil on the air fryer basket, before placing the zucchini in a single layer. Coat the fries in oil to make sure they crisp up evenly. Air fry the keto zucchini fries at 400°F for 8 to 10 minutes.
- Rest air fried zucchini sticks on a cooling rack to keep them nice and crispy. Proceed to cook the following batches.
- They are best served hot alongside the garlic aioli.
How to cut zucchini into sticks
Begin by cutting off both ends of the veggie. Slice the zucchini into crosswise halves. Then, cut each half into quarters with equal lengths. Remove excess moisture by drying them with a paper towel before you start coating the sticks.
Variations
- Make it in the oven: You can cook these low carb zucchini fries in an air fryer or bake in the oven with a parchment-lined baking sheet at 425°F for 20 minutes.
- Seasoning choices: Come up with your own seasoning blend. Choose from Italian seasonings, Cajun, taco, and everything bagel seasonings mixes.
- Different dipping sauces: Use different dipping sauces every time you make zucchini fries in air fryer. Try out this fresh, mayo-free Whole30 yogurt ranch dressing that’s tangy and creamy. You can also dip them in a classic marinara sauce from leftover pasta dinner, or the savory bacon aioli with crunchy bits.
Tips for extra crispy fries
- Slice the zucchini into equal-sized sticks.
- After cooking the zucchini strips in air fryer, place them over a cooling rack to retain moisture. This would avoid them from getting soggy.
- When placing the zuccini in the air fryer, make sure to not overcrowd the air fryer basket. Instead, cook them in batches.
What to serve with fried zucchini
Air fryer zucchini fries can be enjoyed on their own or as a part of a scrumptious meal. Pair them with these zucchini carrot fritters that you can make for a quick and easy lunch or dinner.
You can also serve them with other starters for a full-blown finger food affair. These juicy air fryer corn ribs are dripping in buttery sweet flavor, whereas crunchy air fried oyster mushrooms will be a crowd favorite.
For something different, a plate of flavorful rice paper dumplings is the perfect pairing. The best part? You can make all 3 in an air fryer!
Common FAQ
Yes. This is because zucchini is low calorie and has a low carbohydrate content. Additionally, zucchini provides more vitamin C and fiber compared to potatoes. Cooking zucchini in air fryer also makes it healthier.
Zucchini sticks need to be coated generously to be crispy. Remember to air fry your zucchini spears in a few batches to avoid overcrowding the basket.
You can freeze air fryer zucchini sticks after they’re cooked. Wait for them to cool and store them in a freezer-friendly ziplock bag, where they’re good for up to 1 month.
Pat the sliced zucchini dry before coating them in the breading. Once the breaded fries are ready, enjoy them right away when they are the crispiest.
The time it takes when air frying zucchini is about 10-15 minutes at 300°F. Take a look at this air fryer cheat sheet to find out different air fryer cook times for your favorite dishes.
Storage, make-ahead, and reheat
You can make the dipping sauce ahead before cooking zucchini in air fryer if you want to save some prep time. Once the zucchini in the air fryer is cooked, you can store any leftovers in an airtight container.
Refrigerate them for up to 3 days. To heat them up, simply pop them in the air fryer for 5 minutes at 350°F.
Related recipes
If you’ve enjoyed recipes like air fryer zucchini sticks, here are more ways you can use this versatile vegetable.
You can make a low-carb pasta dish, such as this zucchini noodles with shrimp using zucchini noodles or a healthy side dish with air fryer zucchini and squash.
Another dish you can try is this one-pot kimchi chicken with zucchini noodles that are filled with umami goodness. If you feel like having an on-the-go snack or side dish, give the refreshing zucchini banchan a go to instantly wane those hunger pangs.
Umami Tips
- Air fry them in batches so as to not overcrowd the basket.
- Slice the zucchini into similar-sized pieces so they are cooked evenly.
- Use a cooling rack so the bottom part won’t turn soggy as you work through the second batch.
- Serve them right away, as the texture won’t be as crispy if they are left for too long.
Air fryer zucchini fries recipe
Ingredients
For the zucchini fries:
- 2 medium zucchini , 8 oz each
- 1 large egg
- pinch salt and black pepper
- 6-8 tbsp whey protein isolate, gluten-free flour, or rice flour
- ½ cup almond flour
- ¼ tsp coarse sea salt
- 1.5 tsp garlic powder
- 8 tbsp grated parmesan cheese
- Avocado oil spray
For the garlic aioli:
- 1/2 cup Kewpie mayonnaise, or mayo
- 2 cloves garlic, finely minced
- 1.5 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- ½ tsp coarse sea salt
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
To make the garlic aioli:
- In a small bowl mix together the mayonnaise, garlic, lemon juice, salt, garlic powder, and olive oil.
- Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before serving.
To make the zucchini fries:
- Slice the zucchini into fries by cutting it in half crosswise, then quarter each piece lengthwise so you have a long French fries shape. Pat them dry with a clean paper towel.
- Whisk the eggs with a touch of salt and pepper in one bowl; set the flour (or whey protein isolate) in a second bowl; combine the almond flour, salt, garlic powder, and parmesan cheese in a third bowl.
- Preheat your air fryer to 400F (204C).
- Dip the zucchini in flour (or whey protein isolate), dust off the access, then dredge in eggs, then the almond flour parmesan cheese bowl. Make sure each zucchini stick is coated well on all sides. Rest it over a large sheet pan or plate as you work through the batch.
- Spray the air fryer basket with avocado oil then carefully place the zucchini into the air fryer basket with some space between. Spray with more oil on top. Make sure each piece is sprayed with oil so they crisp up evenly. Air fry at 400F for 8 to 10 minutes. (check after 8 mins.)
- Rest the zucchini fries over a cooling rack so that they won’t turn soggy as you wait for the second batch to be ready. Repeat the process until you finish the whole batch.
- Serve the fries right away with garlic aioli so that they will be the most crispy.
Notes
- For oven, bake in the oven with a parchment-lined baking sheet at 425°F for 20 minutes.
- The fries will be a little crispy outside and full of cheesy garlicky flavor. So so good!
- You can serve the fries with or without the aioli or with ketchup or your own favorite dipping sauce.
- If you can’t have almond flour, you can also use rice panko.
- Technique for dipping the fries with less mess – I used a pair of chopsticks to handle the wet ingredients – whisked eggs – so I can keep my hands dry for dipping in the flour and the coating.
- Make the garlic aioli first as it needs time for the flavor to come together and be chilled in the fridge.
- To reheat the leftover fries, air fryer at 350F for 5 minutes.
- The nutritional label is estimated without the garlic aioli sauce.
Nutrition
Made a dish and love it? Please remember to rate the recipe and leave a comment in the comment section below! It helps my blog grow organically so I can continue sharing free and awesome content with you. Thank you!
Perfect way to cook that zucchini we have so much of right now! These were a hit, very delicious!
Thank you! So happy to hear!
Hello Chihyu, we need to be dairy free and also low carb due to type 1 diabetes. Have you ever heard of replacing way protein isolate with egg white powder or have you ever tried it? if it’s not going to be crispy then we don’t want to go that route but we can’t think of another substitution that’s not high carb. We LOVE your recipes. Thank you!
Hey Holly, I don’t know about egg white powder so I can’t really tell you about it. Sorry about that. If I see it next time, I’ll grab a bag and give it a try. 🙂
Thanks so much for your feedback! I’m trying it today. I’ll try to remember to let you know.
I ended up using hemp protein powder. I was concerned I would be able to taste it but I couldn’t at all. It turned out SUPER! Thanks Chihyu
That’s great! Thanks so much for sharing as I’m sure it’ll help others, too! Appreciate it again!
We made these zucchini fries in the new air fryer I got for my mom this past weekend and everyone loved the fries! So crispy and with lovely cheesy taste. They are easy to make, too! This is a wonderful alternative to traditional potato fries. Lighter and healthier. Thank you!
These zucchini fries are so DELICIOUS! They are a little crisp outside and full of cheesy and garlicky flavor. We devoured them with a sprinkle of pink salt. Next time, we will try with the garlic aioli sauce. This is a great dish for the upcoming zucchini season.
I made these last night! So so easy and yummy! I also loved how they cooked up so fast. My husband liked them too! They came out crispy and flavorful! We dipped ours in marinara! I like having different ideas to make veggies! Thank you for these air fryer recipe’s! I’ll be making these again for sure!
Yum! Love the marinara choice!
I have a bunch of zucchini at home and this recipe comes at the perfect timing! I dipped the zucchini with tapioca starch because that’s what I have and then the eggs and the almond flour/Parmesan coating and they turned out DELICIOUS! We devoured them very quickly Will be making it again!
Perfect!